Numerous types of cleaners have been devised, and most cleaners designed for cleaning hands are in a liquid or paste form. Liquid and paste cleaners are relatively heavy and thus expensive to ship, particularly compared to cellulose materials which provide both a scrubbing and absorbent action. Cellulose particles alone, however, do a poor job of cleaning grease and dirt from the hands, and surfactants in dry form which may be added to the cellulose particles do not tend to maintain a uniform consistency. Lighter cellulose particles may thus rise to the top of a container during shipment, while the heavier dry surfactants tend to drop toward the bottom of the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,783 discloses a solid composition based on plants, wherein the plant particles are immersed in a solvent, and a liquid phase and solid phase are separated. This slurry is dried until about 90% of the aqueous solvents are removed, then a surfactant type absorption promoter is added with a suitable amount of liquid to form a paste. The paste is finally converted to a porous form by freezing and sublimation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,494 discloses a carpet cleaning composition which comprises an absorbent, water, and an organic solvent. The composition is substantially dry, but is also slightly moist.
Various dry and paste type cleaners have been devised. U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,302 discloses a wood pulp composition suitable for cleaning a floor. A fluid bed drier heats the pulp to temperatures up to 800° F. U.S. Pat. No. 6,387,847 discloses an aqueous cleaning solution which is also available in powder form. Clay is used as the base, and the composition has a pH of 2 or less. U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,962 discloses a skin treatment composition which utilizes plant materials. U.S. Pat. No. 6,528,047 discloses a home care concentrate with odor absorption and deodorization properties. U.S. Pat. No. 6,583,097 discloses a cleaner containing various oils and degreasers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,625,612 discloses a detergent composition with increased flowability. U.S. Pat. No. 7,217,752 discloses an aqueous surfactant composition. U.S. Pat. No. 7,223,723 discloses a liquid cleaning composition. U.S. Pat. No. 7,241,452 discloses a skin and hair care agent, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,300,957 discloses a skin care composition.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,197 discloses a dry powder cleaner with a water immiscible organic liquid of at least 1% by weight. U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,067 discloses a powdered cleaning composition containing a urea-formaldehyde polymeric material. A powder cleaning composition with organic fibers, a resin, surfactant, and water are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,440,661, 4,648,882 discloses a carpet cleaning composition containing surfactants, solvents, and zeolite. A flowable powder fabric dry cleaning formula is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,268,400, 6,432,429 discloses a hand cleaning formulation with absorbing substrate, esters, surfactants, and water. Publication 2003/0125223 discloses a hand cleaning composition with various solvents and water.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention, and an improved dry cleaner, particularly suitable for hand cleaning, is hereinafter disclosed.